ABSTRACT
This chapter illustrates some aspects of the climate in which the application of good and bad labels occurs. It discusses with an overview of what seem to be some of the situational determinants of social judgement and suggests that a key element is the power of the nurses and others to evaluate the social worth of their patients, that is, to apply an evaluative label. The chapter considers that key categories in which this power is enhanced or reduced by local factors and also discusses this in terms of situations relating to patients and nurses. It describes: little or no control, some control and substantial control and argues that judgmental labelling is a key component of the maintenance of occupational power. Of particular interest is the interpersonal dimension in which Strauss et al identify patients' endurance of painful or uncomfortable procedures as work through which the patient can then negotiate in other domains.
